China Presses Myanmar Rebels to Shield Key Trade Projects

[geovalin]

Cobra Column

 

 

China is quietly urging two powerful ethnic armed groups in Myanmar to halt their offensives in a bid to protect major infrastructure investments vital to its Belt and Road Initiative.

 

According to a report by The Irrawaddy, Beijing’s special envoy Deng Xijun met with leaders of the Arakan Army (AA) and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in late May, offering closer ties in exchange for ceasefires in volatile regions of Rakhine and Kachin states. Both regions host key Chinese-backed projects, including the deep-sea port at Kyaukphyu and energy pipelines running to Yunnan province.

 

The AA and KIA, which are part of a broader anti-junta resistance, have made sweeping territorial gains since launching offensives last year. The AA now controls most of Rakhine State, while the KIA is threatening the strategic town of Bhamo, close to the Chinese border. These advances pose a growing risk to China's economic interests—and to the military regime's grip on the region.

 

Beijing’s message is clear: stability must return if trade and development are to continue.

 

China has used similar pressure tactics before. Over the past year, it successfully pushed the other members of the Three Brotherhood Alliance—the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)—into ceasefires with the junta. That effort included shutting border crossings and cutting internet and fuel supplies, even detaining a rebel commander during negotiations.

 

In a significant concession to China, the MNDAA recently agreed to withdraw from Lashio, a vital trade hub in Shan State, returning control to junta forces under Chinese supervision.

 

The latest reported diplomatic push suggests Beijing is applying the same playbook to the AA and KIA. China’s goal isn’t to prop up the widely unpopular junta out of loyalty, but rather to keep the region calm enough to pursue its strategic aim: a secure corridor connecting Yunnan to the Indian Ocean.

 

With Myanmar’s civil conflict intensifying and rebel groups gaining ground, China appears increasingly willing to throw its weight behind a fragile status quo—at least for the sake of its own long-term ambitions.

 

-2025-06-05

[Srikcir]

On 6/5/2025 at 9:01 AM, geovalin said:

urging two powerful ethnic armed groups in Myanmar to halt their offensives in a bid to protect major infrastructure investments vital to its Belt and Road Initiative

In exchange for what?

Xi has been pragmatic about Myanmar's civil war with regards to both sides. With China's own internal economic challenges, and confliction with North Korea and Russia related to the Russia-Ukraine war it doesn't need to antagonize the Myanmar rebels.

[Burma Bill]

Get stuffed China, go and stick your belts and roads up your..........!!

 

Keep at it armed ethnic groups and destroy the genocidal Junta.